Rigali: No benefits to war

We recently reached two unfortunate milestones in Iraq: the fifth anniversary of the war and the 4,000th American soldier killed - yet positive outcomes of our efforts are hard to find.

We recently reached two unfortunate milestones in Iraq: the fifth anniversary of the war and the 4,000th American soldier killed - yet positive outcomes of our efforts are hard to find.

The current recession will force states to cut back budgets. Most likely, these cuts will affect the services that working families need and depend on, according to AFSCME. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells us that the war is costing Americans more than $338 million a day. That money could be spent to help out the folks who are hurting most now. For less than what we're spending on the war, we could pay for affordable housing for hundreds of thousands of families, healthcare for children, or scholarships (National Priorities Project).

Furthermore, gas prices are close to double what they were before the war began. CNN says the cost of oil is still hovering around 100 dollars a barrel.

In January, Representative John Murtha announced that we're borrowing $343 million every day to finance the war. Our skyrocketing debt will be a bigger and bigger drag on the economy - slowing recovery and burdening future generations.

The question is: what are we gaining by perpetuating the fighting? The role of the surge in quelling violence is questionable, and the Iraqis are not taking their government into their own hands now any more than they were four years ago. At home, we are facing a flagging economy and our own domestic problems.

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